Afterwards
by madeinfrance
Summary: In which Clark doesn't die. Post-Dawn of Justice AU, Clark x Lois.


" _You_ are my world."

Helpless, she watches as he smiles, looking at her as if he is trying to memorize every detail of her face, and she knows right there that his decision is made.

"No, Clark, please – _Clark_!"

But her arms fail to stop him, and in a second, he's gone.

Heart beating faster than it ever had, Lois pushes herself up on her trembling hands, no coherent thought left as panic starts to take over. In that moment, she only has one thing in mind: run.

If she runs fast enough, she can still stop him. If she runs fast enough, she'll make it in time, just like she did earlier, when the Batman was standing over him. If she runs fast enough -

She falls, knees violently meeting the ground, but she doesn't care; she quickly gets up and just keeps going, eyes half on the battle field she's trying to cross, half on the terrible spectacle of lights taking place before her, so blinding that she can't tell what's going on. So she just keeps running, ignoring the sob that breaks through her when she hears him cry out in pain.

That doesn't mean anything. He's strong – so strong. Keep going, keep going.

And then, with one final cry of the beast, it's all over.

Everything goes still.

The noise, the lights – everything just stops, and an heavy silence takes over. She stops in her tracks, ear out, but nothing.

She's terrified.

Her blood runs cold, and she's never been more scared in her entire life, because her entire life may end right there if he's -

 _No, he's not. He's not. He can't be._

She's not aware of much as she walks towards the heroes, except her heartbeat echoing in her ears. She doesn't even know how she gets there, but she does.

There's smoke, there's flames, and there's them.

The woman is looking up, her body finally relaxed as she sighs, a small smirk on her face. The Batman is standing over the beast, back to her, the rest of his mask in his hand. If she moves a little to the left, she can find out the identity of the mysterious Gotham vigilante, but right now, she doesn't care at all.

She doesn't care, because next to him is Clark, standing, alive. Clark's alive.

He looks drained, and his arm is bleeding, but - he's here. Looking down at her, he smiles.

* * *

Her arms are so tight around his neck it almost hurts, but she doesn't care.

"You scared me to death," she half whispers, half sobs against his skin, and she feels his hand move to her nape, gently stroking it. She's relieved, so relieved, she has no control over her nerves anymore, and her entire body is shaking.

He's here to hold her though, his arms around her as they envelop her in his oh so wonderfully warm embrace, and that makes everything okay.

"I know," he whispers back, face burried in her neck. "I'm sorry. Please don't hit me: I think I've gotten my fair share tonight," he adds.

Breathing him in, hand in his hair and body as close as she can, Lois laughs.

* * *

Just like the rest of that terrible night, the moments that follow are unreal.

You'd think that after being abducted by a Kryptonian ship, having fought against the invaders and dated Superman himself ever since, she'd be used to that kind of supernatural, heroic stuff.

Still, standing in what can only be described as a smoking battlefield as said boyfriend, Batman and a warrior woman who apparently is immune to time and death discuss what to do of Luthor's monster, Lois can't help but think of how absolutely mind-blowing this all is.

It is, and the one thing that keeps her grounded is Clark's warm and familiar hand in hers. She doesn't know how long they stay there, trying to decide on the best thing to do, but he doesn't let go of her once.

Of course, they can't let the body on Earth, so of course, Clark volunteers to take it away – as far away as he can. The thought of him going to the end of the galaxy when he has already been through so much and is probably weaker worries her, and she realises her grip got tighter when he squeezes back and looks down at her, a reassuring smile on his features.

Right before he leaves, he turns to her, both hands grabbing hers as he leans down and drops a feather light kiss to her lips. He doesn't back away, just smiles at her, foreheads touching, and it reminds her of another time, two years ago. Their first kiss.

"Don't be long," she mumbles, fingers holding tight as she cuddles as close to him as she can.

"I won't."

"And don't get hurt, or lost, or both," and he chuckles.

"I won't. But I'll need to take in a little bit of sun before I get back, so don't worry if you think I'm late," and she nods. With a sigh, she leans up and kisses him again, fingertips running over his jaw.

"Alright - go and do your thing, Superman," she manages to smile, and he does, too. "I'll go tell your Mom you're okay."

A few more seconds, a goodbye kiss and he's gone, leaving her once more looking up to see him disappear in the stars. Except this time, there's a masked vigilante and an invincible woman standing a few feet away from her.

Life with Clark Kent is many of things, but it certainly isn't boring.

* * *

She fights to not fall asleep in his arms as they fly back to their apartment. It's odd, she thinks as she buries herself in his neck, fingers running a little on his tanned skin: after all those crazy things they've been through in such a short, from the desert to Superman's downfall and Clark's escape – they're going home. Finally.

Just the two of them.

He gently lands on the staircase and she tilts her head up, dropping a small kiss on his cheek. He smiles a little and brushes her lips with his, and she smiles, too.

"Shower?" he asks as he puts her down, and she nods, vibrating with impatience at the idea.

They stay silent as they undress, then bath each other slowly with tired movements and small kisses, washing away that terrible night, and the still barely believable days that precedeted it.

Lois has never been more happy to get his suit off him than in this moment.

When she comes into their bedroom, Clark's already laid down, hand behind his head and tired eyes still open as his lips quirk up. It's a normal sight now, has been for two years - until recently. Seeing him there after a week of not knowing where he was, _how_ he was, and just wishing he was back makes that lump in her throat come up again.

She doesn't say anything, though, because God knows he's had his fair share of guilt, and simply walks to join him instead, happier than she had been in days when she gets into his arms, and he holds her close.

They're both asleep in seconds.

* * *

Lois wakes up first.

It takes her a while to gather the energy to open her eyes, and when she does, the sun's already high in the sky. Her head is cloudy, her body aches and it feels like the worst hangover of her life, but a few seconds, and she remembers why.

Nairobi. Washington. Clark gone. Lex slowly destroying him. Batman almost killing him. That Kryptonian atrocity.

 _Right._

Lois has been through periods of stress, of fear, and of tiredness before, but never this intense. The fact that she didn't have Clark with her for a part of it didn't help, either.

No wonder she feels like shit.

She also feels his familiar form behind her, though, his arm underneath her head and his legs entangled with hers, and she smiles. Tilting her head up, she drops a kiss to his chin, cuddles close, and falls back asleep.

* * *

When she wakes up again, it's to sweet kisses on her neck and gentles caresses on the rest of her body.

They make love slowly, tenderly once, twice, and Lois thinks her chest might explode.

He's home – and so is she.

* * *

"Really?"

"Yeah. I know I was just – hallucinating, but...yeah."

"Did you talk to him?," she asks softly, fingers running in his hair the way she knows he loves.

"Not really. If anything, he talked to me. Not for long, though – just enough to say what I needed to hear, I guess."

"Well, next time we're in Smallville, I'll have to remember to thank your dad for bringing you back, then," Lois smiles. He doesn't, though, face suddenly serious, and she feels shy at the look he gives her.

A look nobody's ever given her before, a look that even after two years, she can't – and hope she never will – get used to. A look that say how much he loves her, too.

"You did that," he finally says, eyes briefly stopping on her lips before settling on hers again. "Just you," and as foolish as it sounds, she feels her heart skip a beat.

He's kissing her, then, his hand gently cupping her face as he cuddles even closer to her. She doesn't know how long they stay like that, but when he pulls back, just enough to look at her, her entire body is vibrating.

Her smile fades, though, when her she sees the guilt and pain that settled behind his eyes again. "I'm sorry I left you, Lo. I shouldn't have, but I just - "

"Hey," she immediately stops him before he loses himself in apologies he doesn't have to make. "It's okay, babe. You needed to get out of all there, and if anyone deserves a few moments of quiet, it's you. My big, sweet, strong super guy," she adds with a smirk, closing the small space between them to bring her lips to his.

Pecking him one more time, Lois runs a finger on his nose, all the way down his chin. "Besides, you have to leave to come back, right? And I don't hate the idea of Superman coming back just for me," and she feels butterflies in her stomach when he chuckles, a true smile adoring his handsome features.

He keeps kissing, but before they can go any further, a loud knock resonate in the apartment, making her groan in frustration. Frustration, and a little fear, when she hears who it is.

"Lane, Kent! Open that door!"

"Oh, shit," she winces, slapping her forehead as Clark gets up to get some pants. "I forgot to tell Perry we were okay last night – we're dead."

He nods. "We are."

* * *

The first few days after the all Doomsday fiasco go by in a blur.

Just like two years ago, the people of Metropolis – and of the world – learn to deal with what just happened. Clark meets up with Batman and the woman now known as Wonder Woman to take care of the monster of whatever else Luthor trafficated all this time. Lois takes an awful lot of pleasure taking the bastard down.

She puts all her energy in it, more determined than ever – which, for her, is saying something: she already put him in jail, and she'll make sure he stays in there as long as he can. Yet, it's not all she has to write about: she wants to write about Superman.

She wants to write about how badly he was treated, how Lex tried and turned everybody against him when all he wanted to do – and did – was help. She wants to write about how despite everything, he came back for them, and once again saved the day (although this time, with a little time from his not totally friends yet).

She knows she's biaised, but she doesn't care: after all the suffering she has watched him go through, she's going to tell them how good he is.

Never again will Superman be treated this way – not if she has a say in it.

* * *

"Clark?," she whispers, not even sure he's still awake.

"Mhm?"

"I love you."

He smiles.

* * *

"We should go away," she says over her coffee one morning.

He looks up, surprised. "Really?"

"Yeah. You deserve a break. You've never taken one ever since Superman came along, and you've been under a lot of pressure, lately. Luthor, Batman, the Kryptonite - I just think if anyone deserves some time off, it's you. And franckly, I could use one as well, and...I'd really want some time to ourselves. Just the two of us."

When she looks up, he has this sweet, yet intense expression on his face as he looks back at her, and on cue, Lois feels the tradionnal warmth spreading in her belly, a warmth that embarassingly goes up to her cheeks. He's smirking, then, arms crossed over his sizzled chest as he leans back next to the pan.

"So what you're saying is you want me all to yourself," and she shakes her head at his cocky expression, playing along.

"That's really all you got from this?"

"No, but I'm just very flattered, that's all," he teases, coming to lean on the counter in front of her, his face inches away from hers.

"I mean, except if you have better things to do, of course."

"Well, I _do_ have a pretty busy schedule."

"Sure. Plus, the number of your fans has probably skyrocketed since Doomsday, so you may want to pick a new girlfriend in the new bunch."

"There may be very nice women among them."

"Beautiful, too."

"And funny."

"Plus, one of them probaby knows how to cook, so - ", but she's cut off by his lips on hers, the feeling of his smile warming her entire body again. Her hands come to frame his face, and it's her turn to smile when he flies over the kitchen furniture to join her without having to break the kiss.

* * *

And so, for the first time, Lois and Clark, go on a vacation. No cape, no articles, no cellphones – just the two of them.

When they get back, tanned and relaxed and rested, they go back their usual life, except now, Clark is part of some kind of superheroes trinity, which, if all goes according to plan, will soon become an entire _league_ or something.

She'll never stop teasing him about it, of course (" _I can't believe you're best friend with a guy dressed up a Bat_ " _"I am_ not _"_ ), but the fact that he has people looking out for him takes a little of the worry she feels everytime he puts on the suit away. Still, it will take her a bit of time to get used to walking into their apartment only to find them all suited up and swallowing down french fries after a hard night of justice without chuckling.

As far as life changes go, there's also that bright thing on her left hand, now, but that, she doesn't have too much trouble adjusting to.


End file.
